Apparatus for winding filaments



Dc. 30, I952 J. c. NUTTLE 2,623,701

' APPARATUS FOR WINDING FILAMENTS Fild Sept. 27, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 //v VEN TOR J C. NUTTLE ATTORNEY Dec. 30, 1952 J. c. NUTTLE 2,623,701

APPARATUS FOR WINDING FILAMENTS Filed Sept. 27, 1949 2 SHEETS-SI-IEET 2 22 23 32 24 FIG. 2

lNl EN TOR J C. NU T TL E A T TORNE Y Patented Dec. 30, 1952 UNITED STATE APPARATUS FOR WINDING FILAMENTS John C. Nuttle, Denton, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 27, 1949, Serial No. 118,039

3 Claims. 1

r This invention relates to apparatus for winding filaments, and more particularly to apparatus for winding a pluralityof strands into a cop. In serving a plurality of strands from a cop onto an elongated article, such as for example, a conductor, the strands are taken sometimes from the cop in the form of a band, and then are passed through a comb or separator just before application to the article. If the band of strands on the cop is twisted or if there are crossovers of the individual strands of the band, fouling of the strands at the comb is caused whereby breakage of the strands occurs; Furthermore, the band must be wound on the cop with decreasing tension as the cop builds up to minimize squeezing out internal portions of thecop at the ends thereof, and'all the strands must have the same tension at any point along the band. All the strands of the band must lie in the same plane as they are wound on the cop .to keep the lengths of the strands uniform.

Heretofore, there has been no apparatus for satisfactorily accomplishing these results.

A without crossovers ofthe strands.

An apparatus illustrating: certain features of the invention may include a filament-takeup for winding filaments thereon, a pivotally mounted feeler guide urged against filaments on the filarhent-takeup, a stationary guide for guiding filaments to the feeler guide, and a snubber carried by the feeler guide for snubbing the portions of a the filaments between the stationary guide and the movable. guide to tension the filaments, said snub'ber serving to straighten the paths of the filaments as the feeler guide is moved away from the filament-takeup whereby the braking effect thereof is decreased.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following'detailed description of an apparatus forming aspe'cific' embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, front elevation of an apparatus forming one embodiment of the invention:

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. l, and

surface at which the strands first contact.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, front elevation of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a plurality of strands l0-lll are advanced from individual strandsupplies (not shown) through individual ieelers ll--|l of a broken strand detector I 3 of well known construction, and a comb l2 and over a sheave I4 rotatable on fixed axis. The strands are advanced from the guide sheave M to a snubbing rod l6 of a distributor it.

One end of the snubbing rod l 6 is mounted on an arm 20 connected rigidly to a forked traverse guide 22. The guide 22 has a guide surface 23 which is convex in the direction the strands are advanced thereover and concave transversely of the path of the strands at the portion of the The guide 22 is reciprocated along a traverse plate 24 by a traverse bar 26 reciprocated by a distributor cam 27 driven in synchronization with the drive of a spindle 28. A counterweight arm 29 and a pressing arm 30 are connected rigidly to the traverse plate. The arm 30 is weighted and urges the guide shoe 24 and the traverse guide 22 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig.3, about a pivot post 3|, to urge the traverse guide 22 against a cop 32 being formed on the spindle. An arm 33 having a slot 34 therein pivotally mounted on a pin 38 is connected to the arm 30 by a pin 35. A comb-36 and a guide rod 31 secured to the arm 20 guide the strands ill-40 from the snubbing rod 16 to the traverse guide 22. The rod [6, the rod 31 and the comb 36 are secured to the arm 20 at one end only of each so that the strands may be moved laterally into position to string them up. The broken strand detector 13 is operable to stop the apparatus if one of the strands Ill-J0 has excessive slack therein which occurs ,whe

astrand breaks.

Operation The spindle 28 is rotated at a constant rate of speed, and the traverse guide 22, the deflector rod 1,6, the comb 36 and the guide rod 31 trathe formation of the cop, strands are in contact with the rod I6 over a predetermined are thereof which tensions the portions of the strands between the guide 22 and the rod l6 sufiiciently that a new end of any strand broken at the guide will be pulled away from the feeler guide and be picked up by the broken strand detector l3. As the cop 32 builds up in size, the traverse guide 22 and the deflector rod [6 are moved in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3. the weighted arms 29 and 33 .to press the guide 22 less tightly against the cop and the deflector rod IE to deflect the strands 'less than tbefore so that the strands engage'this rod over 'a shorter arc than before. Hence, the tension on the strands being wound on the cop is lessened and the snubbing action of the rod l6 decreases as the cop builds up and the peripheral speedof the cop increases,

The comb 33 separates the strands 0i ii and keeps them spaced apart just before the strands go to the traverse guide 22 and are woundonzthe cop'as a-band. The traverse guide converges the strands into a band in Whichthere are no -.crossovers or twi ts. The braking action of the rod i6 tensions the strands as theyconverge into the band so that twisting, piling-up and crossovers of the bands are prevented, and the :strands lie in asingle plane as they go onto the cop. The

tensioning of the portions of the'strands between the rodlii and the traverseguideUZZis alwaygsufficient with respect to the pressure betweenthe guide '22 and'the con 32 that any strand broken at the cop is pulled free :of the .cop so, that the brokenstrand detectcr i-liais actuated;

The apparatus described hereinabove ,is simple in structure and operationand veffectivel I regulates tension of the strands as the cop isbuiltup. In the use of terms such as filament; filamentary article, or the like, throughout the specification and :claims,it is intended to include tapes, strands'cords, string and the like.

What is claim d is:

'1. An apparatus for winding strands, which comprises a rotatable spindlefor winding strands thereon to'form a cop, anpivotally'mounted traverse guide for guiding a plurality of strands :to a cop being formed on the spindle, meansfor urging the traverse guide against the cop, a fixed guide spaced from the traverse guide for guiding strands generally toward the traverse guide, an L-shaped arm carried :by the traverse guide, a comb projecting laterally from the arm into the path of the "strandsthat are moving from the fixedguide toward the traverse guide'for preventing twisting of the strandsand crossovers-thereof as the strands arrive at the cop, and "a snubbi-ng rod projecting laterally from the arm for contacting thestrands at a point offset from a straight line path between the fixed guide and the comb and on the side ,of said line in which the path of the strands between the fixed guide and the comb tends to bestraightenedas the cop builds up and "as the traverse guide is pivoted farther away from the spindle .whereby the .ten-

This causesthe spindle to distribute the strands on the cop,

,means for pressing the guide against the cop with decreasing force as the cop builds up to decrease/the tension von the strands being wound cnthecop, a fixed guide for guidin the strands generally toward the traverse guide, a snubber carried-by the traverse guide, and a comb for guiding the strands from the snubber to the traverse guide, the relative positions of the snubber, the comb, the fixed guide and the pivot point of the traverseguide :being 'such :t-hat s .the cop builds up the 'snubber vis-moved closer toward a line from the fixed-guide to the comb so that strands contact less of the :snubberthereby re- .ducing the tension on thestrands.

An apparatus for winding strands,=which comprises a rotatable spindle, means {or rotat- ,ing-thespindle to wind a plurality of strands on the spindle, w-hereby'a cop is formed a traverse guide pivotable about a predetermined-point for guiding to thecop in the form ,ofaband strands being wound on the spindle, means for moving the guidezback and-iorthalong thecspindle, means for pressing the guide against the copwith :de

creasing force as the eopbuild-s zupato decrease the tension on the strands being wound ,on the cop, fixed guide-for guiding the strandsggenen ally toward the traverse-guide, a bar projecting from the traverse guide, a :snubbingvrod secured at one end tothe bar, and iaecombsecured :at: one end'to'the bar for separating the strandsxa-s they are advanced from the rod to the traverse guide, therelative positions of the rod, :the comb, the fixed guide and the pivot point of the traverse guide being-such that as the cop builds'upthe snubbing rod is movedcloser towarda line from the fixed guide to the cernbsothatthe strands contact less or the snubber-therebyreducingthe tension on the strands.

JOHN C. JNUTTILE.

REFERENCES ICITED 1 The following references are of record 'inthe file of :thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Sept. I 9, .1935 

